


Ellis, Uniforms and Girlfriends

by Julesmonster



Series: Perfidy [5]
Category: Queer as Folk (US)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-09-21
Updated: 2012-09-21
Packaged: 2017-11-14 17:55:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,607
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/517959
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Julesmonster/pseuds/Julesmonster
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Epilogue to the Betrayal Series and set two years after Restoration. We catch a glimpse of life in the Kinney household.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Ellis, Uniforms and Girlfriends

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
> 
> A/N: This is a slice of life for the Kinney's…there is no real plot or conflict, just moments in their lives to show us what became of Brian, Justin, Gus, Gabe and the newest addition. Think of it as an Epilogue to the Betrayal Series, or think of it as a continuation. Either way, I hope you enjoy! Jules

"Ellis! Get back here!" Justin yelled and watched the two-year old puppy stop in his tracks and slowly turn, tail between his legs, and return to Justin's side. When the dog was finally sitting mournfully beside him, Justin reached down and scratched behind his ears and said, "Good boy."

"Ellis is a pretty unusual name for a dog," Carla said. She was the mother of one of Gabe's school mates. Her son Jimmy and Gabe were currently playing hide and seek in the garden while Justin and Carla watched Victoria and Isabelle nap in a portable crib just inside the pool house.

Justin laughed. "Well, that wasn't his name originally. Gabe wanted to call him Wags, after his favorite stuffed toy when he was little, but Brian had already started calling the puppy Little Shit. Not as a name, mind you, just… well, Brian didn't really want a dog and that was his way of reminding us all of that fact. Anyway, Brian couldn't really call him Little Shit around Gabe, so it got shortened to LS. After a while the dog would only respond to LS."

Carla laughed, "What a way to name a dog. Only your husband, Justin."

"I know," Justin said with a find smile. "Looks like the boys are just running around now. Okay Ellis, you can run with them." Like a shot, Ellis was off and had soon caught up with the boys who were now chasing each other around the field. Ellis joined in, playing tag with the excited boys.

"Very well trained," Carla marveled.

"If only training Gabe was as easy," Justin said. "He's already hyper about starting first grade and there's still another month to go. He's constantly looking at school supply advertisements and asking me if he'll need this or that for his new class."

"It's because they switch buildings for first grade," Carla said. She had two older children who had already gone through the school where Gabe and Jimmy were enrolled. "The preschool and kindergarten are in a separate building, so they see this as going to big kid school. Wait until they're ready to go into sixth grade. When John made the switch to the middle school, he was crazy before school ended the year before."

"They move again for tenth, right?" Justin asked. He'd read all about the school before they had signed Gabe up, but since then, he mostly concentrated on the grade he was in. He knew that the school went all the way through high school and had several buildings on the single campus, but he figured he'd learn more about the other levels as Gabe grew into them.

"Yep," Carla said. "John will be heading there next year. It's hard to believe he's getting so old! Have you started getting Gabe outfitted with uniforms yet?" That was another change from the preschool to the elementary: the elementary school students had to wear uniforms. Justin had hated uniforms when he was in school, but he didn't mind so much for his kids. He thought it was better than the school wasting time making sure the kids weren't dressed like bums or prostitutes, as the current fashions seemed to demand.

"I told him we could go this weekend," Justin said. "Brian wants to be there. He's got some idea that he'll somehow be able to save his son from unfashionable uniforms if he goes with us."

Carla laughed. "Don't go to the store listed on the flyer the school sent home. I'll give you the name of a shop in Grove City. The owner designs her own line of kids' clothes and is very good. She also carries a line of uniforms that meet the school guidelines but are a bit more… design conscious. Brian will approve, I promise."

Justin trusted Carla's opinion. She and her husband had become good friends since Gabe had started at Allegheny Academy three years ago. Tom Charles was a surgeon and made very good money. They had four kids; John was the oldest, followed by Beau who would be starting fifth grade, then Jimmy and finally Isabelle. Isabelle had been born only a few weeks after Victoria, and the two girls would be in the same classes through school, just like Gabe and Jimmy. They lived in a nice Victorian house a few miles away, and the two families seemed to get along great. Tom and Brian had decided to take a Friday off work and go to an afternoon baseball game and had taken Gus and the older two boys with them.

"Sounds like Tori's awake," Justin said as he hauled himself off of the chaise and headed towards the pool house. He called back to Carla when he saw the Isabelle was awake as well. "Looks like Izzy's up too."

Carla came over and lifted her daughter from the portable crib. "I'm so glad we got a girl this time. I did not want to try again, and the thought of being in a house with four boys was a daunting one."

"Having a little girl is nice," Justin agreed. "Brian likes to tease me about dressing her up like a doll, but I don't care. It's nice to buy girly things for a change."

Justin got out two bottles of formula from the fridge and handed Isabelle's to Carla. Then they walked back out to the deck to feed their babies. The boys came back a little later and asked if they could go inside to play on the Wii for a while, so Carla and Justin were alone with the babies when Brian and Tom came out of the house.

"Good game?" Carla asked as she accepted a kiss from her husband.

"Pirates won, not that it will help their chances of getting into the play offs this year," Tom groused. "John and Beau got sidetracked by the Wii and so they are in playing some four player game with Gabe and Jimmy while Gus is trying to coach the younger boys."

"What are we going to do for dinner?" Brian asked as he plucked Victoria from the blanket where she was playing. "Do you want to grill something, or order in?"

Justin scrunched up his nose. "I'd rather order in. Do the boys eat Chinese?"

Carla rolled her eyes. "They eat anything you put in front of them. I swear if we ever go broke it will be because they've eaten us out of house and home."

Brian nodded and pulled out his cell phone. While he put in their order, Tom turned to Justin. "Congratulations on your show. I read an article about it the other day."

"Thanks," Justin grinned. "I've been doing some experimenting lately with form and color and wasn't sure how it would be received, but apparently I needn't have worried."

"I saw a couple of the paintings from the show a few weeks ago," Carla told Tom. "I told Justin then that they were great, but he never listens to me."

"I do so," Justin pouted. "It's just… well, you're biased."

Once the food arrived, they all gathered around the table out on the patio and had a lively meal. Tori and Izzy were already sleeping again. If Justin timed it right, he could wake Tori up for a last bottle and she would go down for the night. Gabe was starting to fade as well.

"We should probably get going before Jimmy falls asleep," Carla sighed. "You've got the address of that shop?"

"Yeah," Justin smiled as he helped Carla gather up the kids' belongings. "I'll let you know how Brian does."

**BJBJBJBJBJ**

"What is this place again?" Brian asked even as he pulled up in front of a small shop in Grove City the next afternoon. They had waited until after the boys' swimming lesson before taking them shopping.

"It's a clothes shop for kids," Justin said. "The owner designs high end kids' fashions, but she also does school uniforms. Carla seemed to think it that you might approve of these clothes more than the generic uniforms from the store that the school recommends."

Gabe and Gus were in the back seat of the SUV and were watching some cartoon with their headphones on. Brian, seeing that the boys couldn't hear them turned to Justin. "I talked to Lindsey and Melanie again about sending Gus to the Academy."

Justin glanced back at the boys and noticed that Gus was pretending to be absorbed in the cartoon, but his eyes weren't following the motions on the screen and he had a small smirk twitching at the corner of his mouth. Justin smiled. Gus was so much like his father. "What did they say?"

"Well, it came back to the finances and the fact that they can't afford to send JR," Brian said. "So I told them we'd send JR too."

Justin chuckled. "And how long was the fit that Mel threw?"

"About twenty minutes," Brian said. "Then she glared for another ten while Lindsey talked her into it."

"So they'll both be going to the Academy this fall?" Justin asked to be sure.

"Yep."

"YES!" Gus exclaimed from the backseat and then looked sheepishly at his fathers. "Oops."

"Yeah, oops," Brian drawled.

"I take it you are happy to be changing schools?" Justin asked dryly.

"Oh yeah," Gus said happily. "I'll be in class with John, and he said that there is another kid who has two dads in his class and no one makes fun of him or anything. And they have a really great middle school soccer team!"

"So I guess we're buying uniforms for Gus too," Justin said to Brian. "What about JR?"

Brian shook his head. "Couldn't get that one by, but I'll make sure that Lindsey gets the name of this place and work something out to defer the cost, even if I have to lie to do it."

"Alright, then let's go," Justin said as he turned off the DVD and stopped Gabe's protest with a look. He got Tori out of her car seat and put her into the stroller that Brian had retrieved from the back of the SUV.

"I miss the days when going to a store didn't require packing everything in the house," Brian groused, but willingly pushed the stroller while Justin led the two boys into the shop. At first glance, Brian saw potential in this place. The cuts and styles mimicked some of his favorite designers, but they were more playful versions made in fabrics that could withstand the abuse a child could dish out. He was going to be buying more than just uniforms from this shop, he could tell.

Justin was already talking to a woman near the rear of the store and Brian made his way over to them. The woman was speaking. "The uniforms are all upstairs. We have a wide selection of off the rack styles, but if you find a style you like that doesn't come in your school colors or the size you'd like, we can always have it made. What school do the boys go to?"

"Allegheny Academy," Brian said. "It looks like you cater to younger children. But Gus is already a little big for these sizes and he'll be in uniforms through high school."

"We actually do carry uniforms upstairs for the older students as well," the woman smiled. "Again, anything you want that you don't see we can make. And once you have picked out the pieces you want, we can embroider the clothing with the Academy's crest. I'm Emily, by the way. I own this shop and do most of the designs myself."

"Thank you, Emily," Justin said. "Brian, why don't we go upstairs first and then I'll let you browse down here after we have the boys' school things. I can tell you are dying to look around."

Brian pulled his lips between his teeth to keep a sarcastic comment back. "Yes, dear." Well, it almost worked.

Gus rushed up the stairs with Gabe following close behind. Brian and Justin took a bit longer, carrying the stroller up the stairs between them. The selection of clothes on the second floor was better than Brian had thought to find in school uniforms. The quality was much higher than anything they had found in the chain stores that the school had recommended and the selection better. The Academy's colors were navy blue and a light yellow that made Brian think of nautical themes, but it was better than the blue and white or maroon and gray that most schools seemed to favor.

Brian began picking out sweaters—v-neck, crew neck, cardigans, sleeveless, you name it they had it. The store carried turtlenecks and button down shirts to pair with the sweaters as well as long and short sleeved polo shirts that could be worn alone. There was athletic wear as well, all in the school colors, so the boys would have clothes for gym classes. There were dress shoes and canvas tennis shoes to wear with their regular uniforms, though they would need to get athletic shoes for their gym classes. Not everything Brian liked came in the navy or soft yellow color. Brian got some white shirts for under sweaters that would have the crest added. He found blue and yellow striped ties with the Academy's crest already sewn on and picked out three for each of the boys. Brian took his selections over to the fitting room where Justin was having the boys try on pants and shorts in navy and khaki in a variety of styles.

An hour later, they had about fifteen outfits for each of the boys. Gabe was getting tired and cranky, Tori was awake and fed up with sitting in the stroller, and Gus was bored. Brian carried their pile of clothes to the register and discussed the alterations and special orders that they wanted before turning to look longingly at the racks of clothes down there.

Justin saw Brian's face and smiled. "I saw an ice cream shop down the way. Why don't I take the kids there while you look around down here? You can meet us there in half an hour."

Brian grinned. "Deal."

Brian dropped the bags off in the car before meeting Justin at the ice cream shop. He'd spent more money than he probably should have, but he really did like the clothes that Emily made and they hadn't bought anything for Tori all afternoon. Then there was the argument that Gabe would still need clothes for weekends. He hadn't been able to get anything more for Gus, but he was getting more involved in picking out his own clothes, so Brian figured he could schedule a day of shopping for just the two of them.

Justin was sitting at a table in the corner of the shop. Gus was playing with his handheld electronic game while Gabe slept with his head in Justin's lap. Justin was carefully feeding Tori ice cream from his own dish, the only one that still had anything in it. This was his family.

**BJBJBJBJBJ**

Gabe's sixth birthday came and went with a small family party. Well, as small as their family parties got. Jennifer and Molly were there. Debbie and Carl came. Mel and Lindsey brought JR. Ted and Blake came. Emmett brought Eric, his latest boyfriend, who Justin seemed to think might be the one. Tom and Carla came with their kids, and Jake and Martha came for a few hours. It wasn't the huge party that Justin had thrown for his fourth birthday, but it was big enough for Brian.

After the party was out of the way, Gabe was adamant that their next big project was getting school supplies. They had been putting him off for months saying that it could wait until after his birthday. So the weekend after the party, they went shopping for school supplies for the two boys. Gus and Gabe each got a new school bag. Gus picked out a messenger bag like the one Justin often carried while Gabe went for a backpack. They bought pens and pencils and notebooks and paper and crayons…everything on the list sent by the school.

That week, they also went to orientation programs for the boys. Gus was ecstatic to learn that they had both fall and spring soccer programs so he could play almost year round. And Gabe learned that the school's swim team had a junior division that he could join. They didn't compete much—only a couple meets in the spring—but it was a start. Lindsey and Mel had come with JR and they were pleased to realize that she would be in class with Beau. The two had become friends during her visits to Justin and Brian's, though not as close as Gus and John or Gabe and Jimmy.

Brian was relieved when school finally started and the anticipation died down. Between Gabe and Gus, he'd thought he might lose his mind. Of course, the new school year meant new schedules that they all had to learn. There was swimming practice and soccer practice after school. There were birthday parties of classmates that Brian had never met and didn't want to meet. There were art projects and homework to complete and then to post on the now crowded bulletin board in the family room.

Then there was work. Brian had taken on Emily as a client, determined to see her fashions move beyond a quaint little boutique and into the national marketplace. He knew she could go far, and he was the right person to take her there. He'd even convinced Justin that they should invest in her company, giving her the funds to expand production and open a second store in downtown Pittsburgh that fall. Of course, Kinnetik was going all out, flooding the market with commercials and print ads to hype the grand opening. Brian planned a huge gala and fashion show for the big event. Only Pittsburgh's elite were invited and it became one of the hottest events of the social season.

"I can't believe we're going to a fashion show for children's clothes," Justin grumped as he tied the bowtie of his tuxedo. Brian smirked. Justin looked really hot in a tuxedo. He might have to come up with more of these high society events just to get the blond dressed up.

"You look good," Brian said as he came up behind his husband and kissed his neck. "And tonight will be good. Rich people have kids they need to dress too. You like Emily's clothes, don't you?"

"Yeah," Justin admitted as he turned in Brian's arms. "I just never thought you would get so caught up in kids' fashion."

"We're going to make her bigger than Baby Gap," Brian vowed. "And tonight is the start of that rise to success."

"Big plans," Justin grinned. "And knowing you, you'll make it happen. We should get going."

"Your mom is putting Tori to bed," Brian said. "And Gus and Gabe are playing on the Wii, so we should escape while we can."

Justin frowned. "We can't just sneak out. The boys will want to say goodnight."

Brian huffed. "Okay, okay. We'll stop downstairs before we sneak out."

"You're just trying to avoid my mother," Justin accused as he pushed away from Brian and started towards their bedroom door. "What did you do this time?"

Brian thought about denying it, but couldn't. "It wasn't anything big. Really. I just told her about that spa we found last week. I might have implied that it could help her look younger."

"Brian!" Justin gasped. "You told her she looks old?"

"No!" Brian denied. "At least I didn't mean to. She took it that way, though. She's been looking tired lately. You said so yourself! I thought a day at the spa would be good for her."

"Good lord, Brian," Justin muttered. "We're lucky she agreed to watch the kids. You don't tell a woman she looks old or tired and she should hit the spa. You tell her she deserves pampering and give her a gift certificate."

Brian shrugged. "There's a reason I don't live with a woman. They are too complicated and touchy. You wouldn't get all huffy with me if I told you that you look tired."

Justin chuckled. "I don't know how you can be so damn charming when it comes to business or getting laid, but lose all sense of good manners when talking to my mother."

"It's a gift," Brian said sarcastically.

They reached the family room and told the boys goodnight before returning to the entryway. Jennifer was there, waiting for them. "Have a good night, sweetheart."

"We will Mom," Justin said before giving her a kiss on the cheek. "Thanks for watching the kids. We'll be back before lunch tomorrow."

"Yeah, thanks Jennifer," Brian said in his most charming way. The glare he got in return told him he was not yet forgiven.

Once in the car, Brian sighed. "Do you think large bouquets of flowers will do it?"

"I think this one might take jewelry," Justin said. "Or weeks of groveling."

"I don't grovel," Brian growled.

"Of course you don't," Justin agreed. "So we'll go to the jewelry shop before we go home tomorrow, and then I'll give her a spa certificate and smooth things over."

Brian was silent for a few minutes as he navigated the car towards the highway. "Why's she so tired these days, anyway?"

"She started taking night classes," Justin said. "She getting her master's degree in business. The owner of the agency she works for is thinking of retiring and wants her to take over managing the place when he does, so he's sending her back to school."

"Wow," Brian said, duly impressed. "Why didn't I know any of that?"

Justin chuckled. "Because you've been so busy getting this thing going with Emily, on top of your usual long work hours."

Brian grabbed Justin's hand and squeezed. "Have I been neglecting you and the kids?"

"A little," Justin admitted. "But I understand that there are times when business comes first."

Brian thought about that. "That's not really true. I mean, yes, there are times when business takes more time, but you and the kids will always be my first priority. In fact, more and more of the work at Kinnetik is being handled by my staff these days. That's the only reason I thought I had enough time and energy to take on Emily. But if you and the kids are suffering, I may have to revise my plans."

Justin beamed at Brian. "We aren't suffering, Brian. I promise. Yes, we miss having you around when you work late, but when you are home, you give Gus, Gabe and Tori all the love and attention they could ask for. As for me… Well, I wouldn't say no to you actually waking me up when you get home from those late meetings. I miss our nightly fucks."

Brian actually blushed at that. "You always look so peaceful that I hate to wake you up. I know that Tori keeps you up late and gets you up at ungodly hours of the morning. But I miss fucking you too."

"So wake me up," Justin said. "I catch naps during the day if I'm too tired."

"Well, I won't have to wake you up tonight," Brian reminded his husband. "I have you all to myself until tomorrow morning."

"Are you sure we have to go to this thing?" Justin asked, ready to start their private time.

Brian chuckled and turned the car into the valet drop-off. "Sorry Sunshine. You'll have to wait a couple hours, and then I'm all yours."

"I'm counting on it."

**BJBJBJBJBJ**

"Dad, can I ask you a question?"

Gus was standing rather nervously at the door to Justin's studio. Justin set aside his paint brush and palette and motioned for Justin to come in. Gus closed the studio door behind him and sat on the sofa Justin often used for portraits while Justin pulled up a rolling stool.

"What's up?" The teen looked distinctly uncomfortable and Justin had a feeling that this had something to do with sex. Gus tried and failed to state his question several times, so Justin finally said, "Does this question have to do with sex?"

Gus flushed. "Not sex per se. I mean, between school and Pops and the Moms, I've got a pretty fair understanding of sex. Probably better than our sex-ed teacher."

"I imagine so," Justin chuckled. "So what can I offer that they haven't already covered ad nauseum?"

The flush turned into a full fledged blush. "Um… is it… is it weird…" and then there was a bit of disjointed mumblings that no one could have understood.

"Gus, what ever you are going through, I'm sure it's not weird," Justin said. "But I can't help you if you don't communicate clearly with me."

"Pops expects me to be gay," Gus finally said. "And Ma and Mom have said many times that they don't care if I'm gay or straight."

"I'm sure that's true of Brian as well, even if he never says so," Justin said.

"Right," Gus sighed. "But what if…"

"What if you like both?" Justin guessed.

Gus' air rushed out in a huge sigh of relief. "Yeah. What then?"

"Well, despite whatever propaganda your Pops might spout, it is perfectly natural to enjoy both sexes," Justin said. "Way back when, even before your Pops was born, some scientists did some studies on sexuality. They discovered that people's sexuality is as varied as people themselves. They came up with what they called the Kinsey scale. On one side was a person who was completely straight. On the other were people who were completely gay. But most people that they studied fell somewhere in the middle."

"Um… where do you fall?" Gus asked.

Justin laughed. "Well, I'm pretty sure I'm far over on the gay side, but I once had sex with a girl and it wasn't completely horrible. So I'm probably not an absolute homo. What has brought all this on?"

Gus looked down at his shoes. "Well, there was this girl at school, Karen. She kissed me after classes last week. And it was really good. I…um…"

"You were aroused?" Justin asked, trying not to laugh at the poor kid's bashfulness. Considering who his father was, you would think Gus could talk about anything sexual. It must be something about being 14 and having all those new hormones taking over.

"Yeah," Gus said. "But then a few days later, John kissed me."

"John?" Justin asked with surprise. "As in John Charles? Your best friend?"

Gus nodded. "I was telling him about what Karen did and he got all mad about it. I couldn't understand why he was mad, but then he kissed me. And I got aroused from that too."

"Well," Justin was still reeling from the news that John had kissed their son. "Well, it's fine if you like both boys and girls. But… this thing with John…"

Gus shrugged. "I told him I don't want to get all serious right now. I mean, we're best friends and I don't want to fuck that up… Um, I mean, mess that up."

Justin chuckled. "It's fine. I'm not your Moms and Gabe's not around."

"Anyway," Gus continued, "John said he understood. He's been hanging out with that guy Jason from the swim team. I think they're dating or something."

"What about Karen?" Justin asked.

"We've hung out a couple times, but I don't think it's going anywhere," Gus said. "She just likes me 'cause I'm hot and popular."

Justin laughed outright this time. "You certainly don't suffer from self-esteem issues."

"What? I am hot," Gus asked with a mischievous smirk. "That's why I have the boys _and_ girls throwing themselves at me!"

Justin ruffled his hair. "Of course you are. Listen, do you want me to help you talk to Brian about this? Or you Moms?"

Gus shrugged. "You might give him a heads-up. I'm gonna talk to the Moms this week, I think." He got up to leave, but he looked back at Justin. "You really think he'll be okay with this?"

"I'll make sure of it," Justin promised. "You know, he once told my father that if I had to deny who I was, what I thought and how felt that it wasn't love he was offering but hate. Don't ever doubt that your father loves you Gus. And he'll keep on loving you if you love a boy a girl or Bigfoot."

Gus nodded and left the room. Justin moved from the stool to the sofa and fell back into the cushions. Wow. That he hadn't seen coming.

He was still sitting there twenty minutes later when Brian came in. "Gus said you wanted to talk to me. What's up?"

Justin laughed and motioned for Brian to come sit with him. "Let me tell you a story…"

**BJBJBJBJBJ**

Carla was helping Justin decorate Christmas cookies while Brian and Tom had the boys outside making snowmen. Or more likely having a snowball fight. Izzy and Tori were napping up in Tori's room and they finally had a little time to themselves.

"Jason's a nice kid and all," Carla was saying. "But I really think John can do better."

"Give him time," Justin advised. "He's still just fourteen. He'll go through a dozen boyfriends between now and the time he graduates. Look at Gus. He's on his third relationship since he told us about being bi. There was Karen first and then Matt, and now Shelly. At least John's not trying to set some sort of dating record."

"Gus is a handsome kid," Carla said.

"Just like his father," Justin sighed. "I just pray he doesn't take after him in everything. I'm alright if he plays the field a bit, but I'd like to live long enough to see him settled down."

"Brian settled down," Carla pointed out. "It's amazing what love will do for a man. Besides, I still believe that Gus is just sowing his wild oats and when he's ready he and John will end up together."

Justin grinned at his friend. "It would be nice, wouldn't it? We could be in-laws."

Carla laughed. "And if they screw it up, there's always a chance that Gabe and Jimmy will come through for us!"

Justin joined in Carla's mirth. "Or Izzy and Tori could get married."

"You are not marrying off my daughter already," Brian groused as he and Tom came into the kitchen. He wrapped his arms around Justin. "She's not even a year old yet. Let her at least figure out if she's a dyke or not first. If she is, I'm sending her to Lindsey for sex advice." He shuddered dramatically.

"Yes, well, I'm sending John to you and Justin," Tom countered. "What do I know about gay dating etiquette?"

"Send him to me for etiquette," Justin said. "Brian knows as much about that as you do. Now if you want John to learn about sex or how to pick up men, Brian is your man."

Carla laughed, but Tom looked slightly uncomfortable. Brian quirked a brow at his friend and Tom shrugged ruefully. "Sorry. I'm getting better about all of that, but it still…"

"You want to talk about it about as much as I want to talk about breeder sex," Brian said with an exaggerated grimace. "Or worse, lezzy sex."

"Then it's a good thing we're all friends," Carla said. "We've got straight covered, you have gay, and Mel and Lindsey have lesbian. No matter what our children come up with to shock us, we'll be prepared."

"That's one way to look at it," Brian said.

"Where are the boys?" Justin asked, afraid of what sort of mess they could be making if they tracked snow through the house.

"We left them in the basement," Tom said. "They were arguing over whether to play the Wii2 or the PS4."

"I made them leave their wet things in the laundry room," Brian said. He swiped a finger through the frosting on one of Justin's cookies. "You are going to save some of this for later," he whispered in Justin's ear.

"If the boys don't eat it all first," Justin said. "I'll get the hot cocoa started and then we can call the boys up in a few minutes."

Brian leaned against the kitchen counter and watched Justin work as he chatted with their friends. It was a scene that he might have scoffed at a few years before, but now… Now Brian was glad he had Justin. He was glad he had the kids. He was glad he had good friends, both old an new.

Brian and Justin had somehow made the move to the suburbs, with backyard barbeques and trips to the mall, but had never really lost who they were. Their life was what they made it, and Brian was happy with the life they had made… even if that life included cocoa and cookies, a dog he didn't want, a teenage son with girlfriends, car seats and family friendly vehicles, and trips to the Gap. Because it also included Justin and Gus and Gabe and Tori.

Yeah, he had hung up his title as the Stud of Liberty Ave and traded it in for Brian Kinney: Family Man. It was a fair trade, he decided.

**The End**


End file.
